Earlier today, I sent the following letter (or slight variations thereof) to my elected legislators:
So far, my congressional delegation has all made public statements questioning or condemning the police violence across the country, but I don't believe anyone in government has yet gone far enough.
I am posting the Senator version here as well to make it available to anyone who wishes to use it as a template for their own letters to their elected representatives.
Dear Senator,
My name is Larry Garfield. I am an Illinois resident in the City of Evanston and one of your constituents.
Like most of the country, I have been sickened by the events of the past week. Yet another American citizen was murdered by a police officer in broad daylight, for no reason other than the color of his skin. In response, Americans of all colors and backgrounds have taken to the streets to express their Constitutional right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. In protests across the country (and indeed even in other countries) people have stood up and declared that enough is enough, and police brutality must end.
In response, police forces in cities across the nation have attacked, gassed, and shot at peaceful protesters, injuring or even killing them. In more than 100 documented cases, the police have openly attacked, arrested, or fired upon journalists doing their job as members of the press. Several have been permanently injured by police officers. In Minneapolis and other cities, police have attacked civilians on their own property or even in their own homes.
Rather than attempt to de-escalate or address the immediate issue, or the long-standing underlying issues that led to this outrage, President Trump has openly and repeatedly called for police forces to be even more aggressive and brutal and "dominate the streets." In a speech on 1 June 2020, he declared that he would activate and send the US military to "quickly solve the problem." A threat to use military force against unarmed civilians is unacceptable. He also, curiously, invoked "second amendment rights," which would seem odd to those who hold that the second amendment exists to protect the people from an overbearing or tyrannical government; the government that Trump is threatening to turn against the American people. Like many, I fear his intention was to encourage civilian-on-civilian violence by his "base."
President Trump has repeatedly blamed "Antifa" for the violence surrounding many of the protests, despite Antifa not being an actual organization, and ample video evidence showing police as the aggressors in the vast majority of cases. He has additionally threatened to label "Antifa" a terrorist organization. As Antifa is not an actual organization, and wears no discernible uniform, this label being applied to these American civilians would authorize the use of deadly force against any American protesting in a way he dislikes.
Antifa is short for "anti-fascists," a position that all Americans should share.
President Trump also ordered federal agents to fire tear gas at peaceful protesters prior to an established curfew, seemingly so he could cross to a nearby church for a photo-op in which he held up a Bible, decried the rioters for harming the church, and then walk back to the White House. This behavior is unacceptable, it is unamerican, and it is illegal. This is all on top of his utter and catastrophic failure to manage the COVID19 pandemic, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 Americans so far.
As your constituent, I call on you to take the following actions.
Immediately, publicly, and unequivocally condemn police violence and brutality against peaceful protesters and members of the press, call for the arrest of police officers who have assaulted peaceful protesters and members of the press, and the resignation of all police chiefs involved in such acts of aggression against law-abiding Americans.
Immediately, publicly, and unequivocally condemn President Trump's threats to escalate force against unarmed peaceful protesters.
Push for nation-wide structural reform of police departments, including, but not limited to,
Join with other Senators to filibuster any further judicial appointments or other business promoted by Senator Mitch McConnell that do not relate to serious police reform or constructive COVID19 response. Do it the old fashioned way if you have to, by simply not shutting up.
Call on your House colleagues to begin an inquiry as to whether President Trump's calls for violence against American citizens constitute an impeachable offense. (That Senator McConnell would not entertain such an impeachment is entirely irrelevant.)
If you are unwilling to take these steps to protect our fragile and actively threatened democracy, then I ask you to resign and be replaced by someone who will.
The Reichstag is burning. The next escalation may cross the line into martial law. It is time for all citizens, but especially public servants and government leaders, to declare, unequivocally, that never again is right now.
